Goldmark 2

    Ok... way behind on my posts so here goes a big ol dump of 5 of them. First off is Karl Goldmark's second symphony. He was a late Romantic Hungarian composer and you can definitely hear the influences of the Wagnerian school of thought in his composition although apparently the two composers had issues with each other (go figure, Wagner having and issue with a composer named Goldmark).

    I would overall say that the symphony fits in the vein of the Wagnerian school, but perhaps a little less excessive than Bruckner or Wagner. It has the complex use of forms, emphasis on motives over themes (to a degree), highly contrapuntal development of ideas (although that is more generally Germanic), and extremely dramatic high and low points. The first movement is an exemplar of these traits and even has a bit of the Brucknerian tendency to pause briefly between dramatic shifts in the tone of the music. Of note to me were the fugal development (which seems a bit odd in the first movement of a symphony), and the climactic section about 8 minutes in to the movement.

    The slow movement is pretty standard fare for this era, but not nearly as long or excessive as many symphonies at the time, which I think works in its favor. I often find myself getting lost in the excessive slow movements of the late Romantic, and they also seem to be the most homogenous movements in terms of timbre which does them no favors.

    The scherzo movements on the other hand, tend to be more short lived than I like, although in the proportions of this symphony, it seems about right. I really enjoyed this movement. The opening movement is a delicate interplay of phrases between the woodwind and string choirs. This movement really struck me though with the contrasting theme which is chorale-like with a trumpet solo, which almost reminded me more of British music than German.

    The last movement opens with a slow section, but quickly works in to an Allegro Alla Breve that is a great display of technical prowess. In a good way... that isn't always the case. The brass sit a lot of this movement out or in the background, only coming to the foreground to signal the end. This movement has swirling chromatic gestures peppered throughout it as well.

    Overall, I think I'll keep this in the back of my mind for when I'm in the mood for something late Romantic, but don't have an hour to listen to one. It seems like a solid B+ kind of piece to me. I still prefer Bruckner, but this symphony also has it's place.